Silver Hands
by MelanieA00
Summary: My entry for "Winter" Fanfiction Contest / Bai is a wandering girl with broken hands who meets a helpful mechanic in New Beijing


A low growl echoed through the night. Bai wrapped an arm around her aching stomach and shuffled on in the dark. The sound of her shoes scuffing the pavement had long become white noise, but every rumbling plea for food grabbed at her attention.

Bai wearily turned down another narrow alley, walking sideways just to get by. She kept an eye out for a food booth, hoping someone would give her the unsold leftovers.

The alley opened up to an empty marketplace, the wind teasing bits of paper. Bai titled her face to the breeze and sighed. The summer breeze was warmer than her liking, but it cooled her down none-the-less.

She allowed her mind to wander; she was so tired from prolonged wandering. Another grumble from her middle sent her mind crashing back down to reality. And reality demanded food.

Bai observed the booths and pinned down a bakery. The owner, an older woman, was cleaning her workplace, sweeping the dirt back out into the street.

She walked, almost hobbled, towards the still-open shop. As Bai drew nearer, the baker looked up from her task to give the girl a strange look.

Bai tried not to stare at the day-old bread lying on the counter. She licked her chapped lips and asked, "Could you spare a bit of food, please?"

The baker grunted in overt distaste and opened her mouth to reply, when her eyes landed on Bai's hands—metal and dilapidated. The woman, impossibly even more repulsed than before, hurried back into her shop, determined to ignore her.

Bai sucked in a breath, bringing her hands behind her back and backed away. She hoped the baker wouldn't send a comm reporting a suspicious runaway cyborg in the marketplace. Luckily, the baker seemed only to want Bai to disappear.

So she tried, turning her back the the closing bakery, only to find another teenage girl staring at her curiously from another booth. Bai's eye widened, and she began to hastily walk away.

"Wait," called the girl. Bai stopped, slowly turning to face her.

The girl in the booth—from the looks of it, a mechanic's business—had brown hair messily tied back. Even in the dim light, Bai could see the dark smudges on her skin. She observed Bai, taking in her grubby appearance. The girl jerked her head as an invitation to join her.

Tentatively, Bai stepped closer, keeping her hands hidden behind her back. The act was in vain; she suspected the girl had already noticed. She stood on the outer side of the table that separated the two.

"Don't mind her," said the brunette, referring to the baker. "She doesn't like cyborgs. I'm Cinder; Linh Cinder." She waited for a response.

After a clumsy second, Bai stuttered out, "D-Du Bai."

Cinder nodded. "Need any help?"

Bai blushed, now hyper-aware of her current state of appearance. "I just…" she trailed off. Clearing her throat, Bai said again, "I just need some food. I've run out of, well, everything."

"Sorry to say I don't have any," Cinder admitted. "If you'd like though… you can come with me and I could sneak—" she coughed, attempting to cover her blunder. "Er, get you some." She tugged on one of her thick gloves.

Bai was intrigued. Why would the girl have to sneak any food to her? Anyhow, Bai agreed to Cinder's proposal and stood back as she closed up the booth.

"Follow me," Cinder said, and headed down a series of streets and alleys. Every so often she'd look back to check if Bai was still following, and she was.

It took the better part of an hour to reach their destination: Phoenix Tower Apartments, a sign read. The glow of the streetlamps illuminated the entryway to the garages. Cinder continued on through.

Bai's eyes wandered. The garages were dark, the only light coming from blinking bulbs overhead. It all looked the same, with slight variations of shadowy clumps.

Soon they stopped at the opening of yet another dark room. Cinder ran her gloved hand over a part of the wall, flicking on the lights. Inside were old drawers, a work table littered with parts, and miscellaneous knick-knacks.

Cinder pointed to a chair with her thumb. "Go ahead and sit here for a bit. I'll be back with something for you to eat, okay?"

Bai nodded and sat. Cinder exited, leaving Bai alone.

Glancing around the room, she desperately wished her hands were functional so she could open the drawers and examine all the things in the room. As soon as the thought passed she chastised herself for being nosey, but the urge still lingered. Instead, she left herself to wait patiently for Cinder to return.

Biting her lip, Bai held up her hands, the fingers falling with gravity. Sometimes she'd pretend she had magic silver hands that shone like new pennies. It was a silly childhood daydream, but she remembered it with wistful reverence.

After what seemed like forever, Cinder returned, a cloth bundle tucked underneath one arm. Trailing behind her was an android, its blue spotlight sweeping the path ahead before landing on Bai's face.

"Oh!" It chirped, surprisingly human-like. "Is this her?" The android's fans whirred faster.

"Iko, shush!" Cinder set the bundle onto the table and turned to Bai. "This is Iko," she explained. "She has a, er, strong personality… what others would call a defect."

"I'm not defected! I'm just so much more mature for my age." Iko said it with such seriousness it was hard not to laugh.

Bai shook her head, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Iko."

Iko rolled closer, extending one of her grippers in semblance of a hand-shake.

Bai hesitated. Her hands were unfunctional, long since broken. She held out her arm, touching the palm of the hand to the gripper. Iko shook it, looking as happy as an android could.

Cinder, noticing Bai's motionless fingers, pursed her lips.

Bai withdrew her hand, placing it in her lap. Biting the inside of her cheek, she gave her hands a shake, displaying the quality of her metal additions.

"They don't work," she confessed. "I've had them for so long… and they broke. I can't hold a single thing."

"That," Cinder began, her eyes flicking to the cloth bundle on the table. "Would raise some complications."

Bai shrugged. "I don't have money to get them fixed or replaced. And I can't go back—." Her voice caught and she cleared her throat. "I mean, I can't ask my family for help right now."

Cinder said nothing, but Bai could feel the questions hanging in the air.

"Actually, I could try to fix them up for you." Cinder fished around for some tools. "Your hands should be no problem… depending on how they're broken, of course."

Bai looked quizzically at the girl. "You can fix cyborg parts?"

Cinder raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm a mechanic." Hesitantly, she pulled off her left glove, revealing a hand similar to Bai's. "And a cyborg as well. I know how to fix almost anything."

Bai looked away from Cinder's hand as if it were something private. Metal parts were considered to be so by many, and most cyborgs preferred to keep them unknown either way.

Cinder laid out some of the materials she'd gathered onto the work table, setting the bundle aside. "C'mere," she said. Bai scooted the chair beside the table, laying her hands on the surface.

"If you can fix them, thank you so, so much." Bai wished she had something to give in return.

Cinder waved her hand at Bai dismissively. "Really, no big deal. I've hand to repair myself countless times; this should be a breeze. I'll just run a short diagnosis and then…" Cinder trailed off, already absorbed in the task.

As Cinder tinkered away at Bai's hands, Iko was ecstatic to have new company to chat and gossip with.

Bai learned that Iko had an extensive knowledge about Prince Kai—the android had an endearing fixation with the guy. Bai in return told her stories about her travels, how she had run away to avoid working for a devilish man her father had accidentally promised her to in a contractual loop-hole.

"Oh stars," Iko had commented. "How awful! It would be so dreadful having to work for someone like that." Bai decided to ignore the irony.

It seemed like both ages and only a few minutes had passed when Cinder announced the repairs were finished.

Bai stared at her hands, so dirty and dented. Slowly, she wiggled her fingers to find they responded perfectly. She gasped, twisting and bending her metal fingers, getting accustomed once more to the flow of them. "Stars above, thank you, Cinder."

Cinder shrugged, but her pride was clear as day. She twirled a wrench through her fingers. "I'll bet now you can carry your things. Sorry I couldn't get you a proper bag, by the way."

Bai shook her head. "No, no, you've done more than enough. Thank you, really."

She hated to go, but now that Bai had full reign of her hands, she had to continue. "It was nice meeting you, Cinder, Iko."

Iko's light dimmed. "Do you have to go? We'd only just met!"

Bai nodded. "Maybe I'll stop by again someday."

"You know where to come," Cinder said. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Is it… how is it? Running away, I mean."

Bai looked at Cinder, who was fiddling with her glove again. "It's hard. I suppose if you had some help, it'd be easier. Money runs out much faster than you think."

Bai's stomach grumbled. In light of recent events, she'd forgotten how hungry she was. She grabbed the cloth bundle off the tabletop. "I should probably get going now."

"I'll show you out?" Cinder offered, not really a question.

The three walked outside the garage complex, standing beside a nearby lamppost. Cinder and Iko waved Bai off, who disappeared into the shadows.

She looked back once more, watching as the pair headed into the apartment lobby. Biding a silent farewell, she held her newly acquired food and supplies to her chest and continued her lonely wandering.


End file.
